Easter Day

 

Some of my favorite Easter time cartoons that I've seen floating around facebook.

(Sorry I don't have links or sources for all of them.)

 

Easter eggs first:

 

Ha!

As a long time fan of Dr. Suess, I love this next one:

 

 

Need to paint your walls?

 

 

 

Moving on to the baby chicks:

 

 

Not sure who is more surprised - the man or the chick!

 

Oh dear, on this next one, you gotta feel for the poor guy!

 

 

This is one of my all time favorites:

 

 

Love to laugh!

 

But......

 

On a very serious, very somber note...........

 

 

He is not here; he has risen!

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners,

be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’

 http://bible.us/111/luk.24.6.niv

 

Not a cause for laughter, but certainly a cause for rejoicing!

Happy Easter to all of you.

The welcome mat is out

I saw a story in the news this morning about a specialty grocery store in Australia. It seems they are tired of folks coming in their store, looking at their products, and then leaving without buying anything. So, they have put up a sign saying there's a $5 "just looking" fee.If you buy, that will be subtracted off the total.

Ok then. Wonder how they feel about the backlash they have received world wide? This is just the type of thing that spreads through social media like wildfire.

I had a customer tell me one time that she had gone in a shop in our town "just to look". When she left, she heard the owner say to an employee, "I don't know why she comes in here. She never buys anything". My customer was understandably upset about that, and said she would never go in there again.

I'm sure we all have been "just lookers" at some time in our life. Maybe often times. What's wrong with that? Nothing.

Some of my best advertising has come from "just lookers". Mary Jane may not need a thing. But she has friends and family. And she may mention to them something she saw in my shop. And, it may be just what they have been looking for.

The old adage that word of mouth is the best advertising is so true. I'm afraid that specialty grocery store in Australia is about to find that out the hard way!

I extend a heartfelt welcome to all of you who come in my shop. Whether you buy. Whether you don't. The welcome mat is always out....... for everyone.

Country Life = 8 seconds

George and I had a new adventure last night. We went to a PBR event. In case you don't know, PBR stands for Professional Bull Riding.........

I have no idea why anyone would want to do that for a living. Or for a hobby. Or for any other reason. But they do. And let me tell you..... those cowboys are tough.

8 seconds may not seem like very long when you are going about your daily routine. But 8 seconds on the back of a bull? An eternity. And it only ends one way. With that cowboy being thrown off. One way or another.

 

But they come back for more. No idea why. But they do. And, they put on a very entertaining show in the process! We really enjoyed it. We've seen it on TV, but that's not quite the same.

 

We've never been to a rodeo either, but it's on our bucket list.

 

Have cowboy boots. Will travel.



Trash to treasure bookcases

I should have taken "before" pictures, but I didn't think of it. You know how that goes, you only think of "before" pictures when you are taking the "after" ones.

Well, anyway..........

 

Notice the bookcase. We bought it at an auction last fall. It was plain wood, no finish. Unless you want to call the dirt that was on it a "finish". And it had a back on it. Cardboard. Dirty cardboard.

We paid a whopping 6 bucks for it.

 

Later in the auction, another one came up for sale............

 

 

It had the same dirt finish. With the dirty cardboard back. But it was later in the day, some folks had left, and we only had to pay 1 buck for this one. Yay!

 

There was a man at the auction who was buying all kinds of antiques. You know, the ones we wanted but couldn't get because he had more money than we did.

 

He saw me looking at the shelves, and he made a comment about them being junk. I didn't say a word,  just smiled. When I bid on them, he snickered. I just smiled.

 

Once we got them home, I pulled 75,000 staples out of the cardboard back. Or something like that. I lost count after 50.

 

We hosed them off, then I used a bluish gray wood stain on them. We added the bracing to sturdy them up a bit. (somehow I don't think that is proper English)

 

Great display shelves!

 

Take that Mr. Snooty Snickers!!!



Country Life = Oreo Cows

I'm back! I took a little blogging sabbatical so to speak. Only my research on the word sabbatical suggests that it is usually a paid leave. Whoever was supposed to pay me must not have got the memo. Maybe next time.

I'll get new store pictures up soon, but first, by special request, is the latest members in our farming world:

 

OREO COWS!

 

Well, technically they are Belted Galloways. But look at them! Black on both ends with a white belt down the middle.

 

OREO COWS!

 

 

They belong to Kevin & Katie who traveled most of the way across PA yesterday to buy them and bring them home. They will be going back in a couple months to pick up the heifers they also bought who are getting bred soon.

 

The 4 they brought home yesterday had never been off their farm before. They were just leading a peaceful life of eating grass and hay. Then Kevin & Katie showed up with a trailer, and the cows went from going about their daily business to riding on the highway for several hours.

 

They were not impressed.

 

So, understandably, they are also not impressed with Kevin & Katie right now. Or me & George. How did I get close to them to take their picture? I didn't. Camera zooms are lovely little devices are they not?

 

Most of the day, this is what we saw if we got remotely close to the beautiful Belties:

 

 

There were lots of opportunities to get shots of their backsides. With the zoom.

 

But by the end of the day, they were getting somewhat used to us. Somewhat being the operative word. But there was progress.

 

And that's a good thing.